What Noah did wasn't for the benefit of the mission.
He had revealed their position, killing only two injured soldiers, the surprise effect could be considered wasted.
Yet, he would rather do that then charge alone on the enemies, hoping for the group behind him to follow.
'If they think like me, they will use me to identify their abilities and then charge. I won't risk my life for them.'
He had already obtained the reward for the mission, he couldn't care less if it was to fail because he was unwilling to risk his life.
'Also, if the Royals really cared about this matter, they would have acted personally.'
Noah didn't believe that his group was the only force deployed for that task.
He knew that the Royals had spies set up after all so there was a high chance that there could be hidden troops too.
The soldiers from the Muwlos family reacted quickly and set up a battle formation around Samuel with their bodies turned toward the now exposed cave.
They wouldn't attack since their task was to protect the heir of their family so they prepared themselves for the incoming charge of the assailants.
Since they had been exposed, the other cultivators in Noah's group showed themselves to the crowd below them.
There were a few hundred meters of distance between them as ten hooded figures stared at the more than forty soldiers on guard.
Jean's poison had managed to kill most of the weaker soldiers and injure some of the stronger ones but they still had the advantage in numbers.
"Let's have fun!"
Jean happily shouted and threw herself at them, launching bottles containing poisonous substances in the group below her.
The others followed behind her and stared at the bottles crashing on the soldiers.
Those poisons were less powerful than the one she had previously used but they still managed to do some damage.
Some soldiers directly threw up when they came in contact with those substances, others lost their balance, a few more had cold sweat running down their forehead as they struggled to restrict the harmful effects on them.
'She sure is talented in attacking crowded areas.'
Noah praised in his mind.
He didn't let that chance go and joined Jean in her long-distance attacks, swinging his sabers to launch wind slashes.
However, the soldiers were ready by then, Noah's attacks had no success.
'Most of us will die.'
Noah thought.
Even if the cultivators recruited by the Royal family were all strong individuals, they were fewer of them.
'Maybe, the Royals also want to use this mission to get rid of most of us.'
Noah couldn't help but think of that possibility.
The soldiers didn't stay quietly to endure the attacks of the aggressors.
Those of them that had spells or long-range techniques began to attack the descending group.
Fireballs, water bullets, wind slashes, arrows, and more ran through the air and crashed on Noah's group.
Noah dodged the attacks and moved toward the area where the trap was set off.
Now that the real battle had begun, he chose to separate from the group to act undisturbed among the soldiers.
The others used their personal methods to deal with the incoming spells, using spells or protective items to endure the first wave of attacks.
The Shadow steps spell was activated continuously, increasing Noah's speed and allowing him to dodge at ease.
An arrow made of water crashed next to him, leaving a deep hole on the terrain.
A spear moved at high speed through the air, aiming for his waist, Noah casually jumped, surpassing it.
While he was still in the air, another water arrow flew and pointed at his chest, Noah kicked the air to propel himself back on the terrain and dodge the attack.
Even without using his wings, he was quite elusive!
The others in his group were doing their best to endure the attacks too and some of them were inevitably injured, yet they still hadn't suffered any real loss.
When the distance between the two groups was shortened to fifty meters, the representative of the Royal family came out of the other hiding spot and assaulted the rear side of the soldiers, followed by the remaining twenty cultivators hired by the Royals.
The soldiers were caught by surprise and immediately suffered casualties as the two groups attacked them from two different sides.
Noah swung his sabers madly, engaging in short battles with the already injured soldiers.
He had still to test his improvements in an actual battle.
Even though he was holding himself back, the execution of his martial art was flawless and he managed to attack and retreat wisely in order to avoid being encircled.
His constant sparring sessions with June and the instruction in battle-formation of the academy made it possible for him to always be in a safe position while inflicting a fair amount of damage.
A soldier raised his sword to hit him but Noah blocked his blow and used his other weapon to wound his waist.
A spear aimed for his shoulder but he used the Shadow step spell to jump over the soldier in front of him and reposition himself on the battlefield.
He continued to move freely on the perimeter of the soldier's group, doing his best to wound or kill as many enemies as he could, using only his basic martial art and his rank 0 spell to fight.
Meanwhile, at the center of the group, a harsh battle was about to begin.
The representative of the Royal family charged undisputed toward the center of the enemy troops.
His rank 4 body was unmatched in that environment and he swung his greatsword freely, making a way toward the heir of the Muwlos family.
Samuel panicked a bit seeing the hooded cultivator getting close but Abel promptly moved in front of him.
"I will handle him, don't worry young master."
He spoke, fixing his gaze on the incoming warrior.
The representative didn't waste time, he swung vertically his big sword toward Abel.
However, what happened next surprised him.
Abel didn't dodge the attack and let the blade cut his body.
At the same time, he took out a small knife and attacked the arm that wielded the greatsword.